A method for compensating for imbalances in a washing machine is disclosed in DE 33 42 376 A1. In such a method a drum rotatably supported in the washing machine is accelerated up to a first speed, at which the items of laundry located in the drum lie against the drum wall, an imbalance is measured during the rotation of the drum at a speed which is equal to or greater than the first speed, and the speed is controlled as a function of the change in the imbalance.
A method for control of a spinning cycle and a washing machine with a detergent solution tub on sprung suspension in a housing, in which a drum is supported so that it can rotate around a horizontal axis are known from DE 22 04 325 A1. The washing machine has a device for detecting the detergent solution tub movement which is caused by an uneven distribution of the items of laundry in the drum, i.e. an imbalance of the laundry. To detect the movement the washing machine has an electromechanical converter which is arranged between the housing and the detergent solution tub and can detect the displacement of the detergent solution tub in relation to the housing in one direction. The known washing machine features a control device which can act on a drive of the washing machine, so that in the event of a highly uneven distribution the spin speed can be reduced or the spin process can even be aborted. During a spin duration a voltage proportional to the amplitude of the detergent solution tub movement is detected by the electromechanical converter. The detergent solution tub movements caused by a laundry imbalance occur especially as from a speed of the drum at which the items of laundry essentially lie firmly against the wall of the drum.
The movements caused by imbalances and thereby the forces acting on the components of the washing machine can be restricted with the measures demonstrated in DE 22 04 325 A1. The disadvantage of the known method is that only the movement occurring at the particular time can be detected. A prediction about the movements occurring during the ongoing spinning cycle, especially a prediction of the movement when the drum passes through a resonance of the oscillating detergent solution tub is only possible to a limited extent. Thus the spinning cycle cannot be influenced early enough to allow these types of large movements to be avoided which can cause the drum to strike the detergent solution tub or can cause the machine to move around.